1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to a receptacle assembly and mounting bracket for making electrical connections between a mateable electrical connector and a circuit board.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of electrical connectors have been used for making electrical connections to conductive areas on printed circuit boards. One known approach is to connect cable conductors directly to conductive areas on the circuit board. German specification DE No. 3405 126 A 1 discloses a connecting plug providing stress relief for the conductors of a ribbon cable. The plug is a two part device, and when assembled to a cable, stripped ends of the conductors extend in a linear array from the plug. German specification No. DE No. 3004 072 C discloses a guide block for receiving flat cable with its wire ends bared. The block can be mounted on a circuit board with the wire ends positioned for soldering to the board. This approach does not provide a releasable connection to the circuit board.
To provide a releasable connection connector pins or wafers including pin terminals, either straight or right angle, may be soldered to conductive regions of a circuit board and interconnected with a mating electrical connector. Connectors using more complex types of terminals can also be connected by through hole soldering or surface mounting techniques to a circuit board and mated to a releasable connector.
These known approaches, although widely used and successful for many purposes, are subject to disadvantages under certain conditions. In some installations, shocks and vibrations may be applied from the mating connector to the solder interface with the circuit board, leading to degradation of the solder connection and unreliability of the circuit connections. In addition, known connector systems are not well adapted for use with circuit boards installed behind a panel or in a chassis where electrical connections are made to a connector which is panel mounted and connected to the circuit board.